San Bernardino Alleged Foreclosure Rescue, Equity Stripping Group Faces Forgery, Loan Fraud, Conspiracy, Money Laundering Charges

In Southern California, The Press Enterprise reports:

• Ten San Bernardino County residents face criminal charges of participating in a predatory lending scheme based in Rancho Cucamonga that generated more than $2 million in fraudulent mortgages. A lawsuit filed this week in San Bernardino County Superior Court alleges that the scam was headed by Andrew Whitaker, 52, of Alta Loma, who had a prior real estate-related felony conviction for which he served prison time.

• Targets of the scheme described by Deputy District Attorney Larry Roberts were homeowners desperately trying to save their homes from foreclosure who thought they were obtaining refinancing but wound up selling their houses to straw buyers. In the process the remaining equity in their houses allegedly was stolen through inflated commissions, escrow charges and other fees.

Those charged are Andrew Webb Whitaker, Karren Marian Whitaker, Katrina Michelle Whitaker, Heather Nicole Whitaker, Mojgan Cox, Jesse Sinclair Cox, Juleanne Le Brooks, Phillip Parker, Jason Vince Harvey, and Andre Thomas Silva.

For more, see 10 San Bernardino County residents accused of predatory mortgage fraud.

See also, San Bernardino County DA Press Release: DA Arrests Predatory Lenders Operating Throughout Southern California.

Go here for criminal prosecutions of foreclosure rescue operators.